Holder's Justice Department stonewalling FOIA requests

Add another outrage to Eric Holder's tenure as Attorney General. J. Christian Adams reveals that there is a pattern of stonewalling Freedom of Information Act requests from conservatives, while expediting those from liberals. From Pajamas Media:

Eric Holder's Justice Department has even politicized compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. According to documents I have obtained, FOIA requests from liberals or politically connected civil rights groups are often given same day turn-around by the DOJ. But requests from conservatives or Republicans face long delays, if they are fulfilled at all.

The documents show a pattern of politicized compliance within the DOJ's Civil Rights Division. In particular, I have obtained FOIA logs that demonstrate as of August 2010, the most transparent administration in history is anything but. The logs provide the index number of the information request, the date of the request, the requestor, and the date of compliance.

Frank Wolf sent a terse letter to the Inspector General at the Justice Department demanding her current investigation of Civil Rights Division politicization include this line of inquiry. The DOJ IG is investigating a series of things, including whether infamous DOJ political appointee Julie Fernandesand others including voting section management are treating employees differently because of their religious views and political beliefs.

Justice bureaucrats made the mistake of stonewalling for five months a FOIA request from Rep. Frank Wolf, Virginia Republican, who now chairs the subcommittee that oversees the department's budget. Yesterday, Mr. Wolf wrote to Justice's inspector general demanding "an immediate investigation" into what he called "potentially, a violation of federal FOIA law." Hopefully, the intrepid Mr. Wolf can get to the bottom of the Obama administration's latest affront to limited government.

This is a serious scandal. Politicizing the Department of Justice strikes at the core of our republic's political legitimacy.

Hat tip: Mark J. Fitzgibbons

Add another outrage to Eric Holder's tenure as Attorney General. J. Christian Adams reveals that there is a pattern of stonewalling Freedom of Information Act requests from conservatives, while expediting those from liberals. From Pajamas Media:

Eric Holder's Justice Department has even politicized compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. According to documents I have obtained, FOIA requests from liberals or politically connected civil rights groups are often given same day turn-around by the DOJ. But requests from conservatives or Republicans face long delays, if they are fulfilled at all.

The documents show a pattern of politicized compliance within the DOJ's Civil Rights Division. In particular, I have obtained FOIA logs that demonstrate as of August 2010, the most transparent administration in history is anything but. The logs provide the index number of the information request, the date of the request, the requestor, and the date of compliance.

Frank Wolf sent a terse letter to the Inspector General at the Justice Department demanding her current investigation of Civil Rights Division politicization include this line of inquiry. The DOJ IG is investigating a series of things, including whether infamous DOJ political appointee Julie Fernandesand others including voting section management are treating employees differently because of their religious views and political beliefs.

Justice bureaucrats made the mistake of stonewalling for five months a FOIA request from Rep. Frank Wolf, Virginia Republican, who now chairs the subcommittee that oversees the department's budget. Yesterday, Mr. Wolf wrote to Justice's inspector general demanding "an immediate investigation" into what he called "potentially, a violation of federal FOIA law." Hopefully, the intrepid Mr. Wolf can get to the bottom of the Obama administration's latest affront to limited government.

This is a serious scandal. Politicizing the Department of Justice strikes at the core of our republic's political legitimacy.